StLouisCruisers

@Ichiban Nekko Cat and Dave happy early anniversary wishes to you both! And Bon Voyage!🥂 @smitty34877 Terry, I'm happy to hear the roof and gutters held up to the terrible weather over the weekend. So far the roof leak we had repaired four times has held up to our weather too. The pipe leak area is also doing fine and I will be glad when we get the drywall work completed and the ceiling painted in the Study. DH wants his peaceful refuge back! I'm sorry to hear the last few days have been so tough for you. Lots of worries and sorrows to deal with. Prayers for comfort and strength for you.🙏 @Mr. Boston my sympathy on the loss of your Aunt Roberta. I am sure you'll miss her and your close relationship. Know that she will be looking down upon you and helping you through your grief. 😇 Your pictures are nice of the garden. I love to view gardens all over the world. They're so peaceful. @aliaschief Bruce, have a safe trip to your DD's house to celebrate the birthdays this weekend. Happy birthday to them both! 🎂 Sorry to hear about the COVID in your DS's household. Isn't it amazing how one person can live among them and not catch it? The rest of us merely have to just think about it and catch it. Love the memes as usual!

Good morning friends! The rains finally stopped last night as the temperature was already dropping. This morning the temp is 32F with clear skies. High will be 50 and it will be sunny today. Too bad our weekends are so rainy lately. Thank you Rich @richwmn for the Fleet Report and Daily! A salute to all the helpful apps, UNICEF's Day of Change, and the holiday food drive for needy animals. The meal suggestion sounds good but no thank you to the drink or wine of the day. Hurray for the Statute of Westminster but I'm sure it was a sad day for baseball fans when Joe DiMaggio decided to retire. Thank you Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard for your reports today. 🍷 Prayers said already this morning for our friends here on the Daily Care list, especially Vanessa @JazzyV in severe pain, for Pat @57redbird having spine surgery today, for Terri @Cruzin Terri having tests at Mayo, Roy's @rafinmd PET scan, Tana and Baby Murphy. Blessings to Linda @lindaler who is helping her family in their time of need. So sorry to hear there isn't a nice long cruise in your immediate future but that will come about next year. 🙏 Prayers also for DB and our friends Scott and Bob. Extra prayers for the people of Israel and Ukraine as well as all the hostages. 🙏 Cheers to all celebrating happy events and cruising and that include plenty of people here! 🎂🎉 Many thanks Vanessa @JazzyV for keeping the lists updated each day. ❤️ The port today is Portland, Oregon. This is a new port for us so no links to post for you. I have not been to Portland before. If you have photos you'd like to share, please do. In sports today the Notre Dame men's soccer team won their semi-final game against Oregon State and will play in the finals tonight against Clemson. The College Cup game is 6 pm Eastern time and will be played in Louisville, KY. Hoping for a good game and a win by ND. Go Irish! ⚽ Hope you all have a great day! Please be safe and stay well.

Sorry I skipped the happy birthday wishes to Henry, Carolyn @cruising_along. I was typing at the time of posting it. Hope you both enjoy the celebration!🎉🎂

Good morning friends! Rain started during the night and we are experiencing periods of heavy rain with occasional thunder and lightning. It's 61F and will rise only a few degrees. Rain will end this evening and temperatures will plummet into the 30's. Definitely an out of the ordinary day! My sympathy and prayers to those who experienced the tornado yesterday in Tennessee. Thanks Rich @richwmn for today's Fleet Report and Daily. Nice days to celebrate including the Dewey Decimal System, International Animal Rights Day and National Lager Day. While I don't drink beer, I appreciate the library classification system and the rights of animals to be treated with respect. A truthful quote by Nicholas Sparks, and my goodness, we seem to have a lot of coconut and curry recipes! No thanks to the drink and wine. Nice day to award the first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901. I wonder if there was much resistance to the metric system in France back in 1799? Thanks for our recipes and wine report today Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope and Ann @cat shepard. Prayers for the people suffering in Israel and Ukraine as well as the hostages and innocent people in Gaza. Also for my DB and friends Scott and Bob and their wives who take such good care of them. But special prayers for our Daily Care list group who have pain and health issues. Hoping Vanessa @JazzyV is feeling better and got a few more hours sleep. Prayers for Carol's @mamaofami DGS heading to Israel to help out. Hopefully he is ineligible for active duty and can spend his time assisting the kibbutz. 🙏 Cheers to all cruising or preparing to cruise. Bon Voyage to those embarking today! May you all have enjoyable sailings and smooth seas. Happy celebrations for those with birthdays and anniversaries.🥂 Thanks to Vanessa for compiling the C&C lists every day!❤️ Thank you Graham @grapau27 for the link to Father David's sermon. I saw it on yesterday's Daily. I'll be checking it out. 🙏 The port this morning is La Paz, Baja California, Mexico- Pichilingue. This was the port most recently slightly over 3 weeks ago so may be familiar. The previous dates are Nov. 27, 2021, July 25, 2022 and Nov. 17, 2023. We have not visited that Mexican port before. Here are the links to previous dates which may help you to find your photos. Have a safe and healthy day everyone!

Thank you Chuck for your photos of Funchal, Madeira Azores. I'm glad you were able to find time to search for them to share. Hope you have a wonderful day today!

Bon Voyage!

Funchal, Madeira, Azores Our first visit on Emerald Princess was in 2008. It was our first transatlantic so we were excited to see this new and fascinating place. We got on a bus and first did some touring of the cliff, Cabo Girao. I loved the purple blooming trees all over the place. This is a photo of some taken from the top of our double decker bus. The view from an overlook. And the view from the cliff, straight down. That's a little unsettling, isn't it? Back in town we headed to the market. I think I remember these tiles on a wall there. Presentation is just as important as the quality of the fruits and veggies. I would buy from this vendor, wouldn't you? In 2013 on the Royal Princess maiden transatlantic we enjoyed exploring more of the downtown area by walking, no tour. Here we are at arrival in this lovely port. A city park where vendors had set up shop. I bought a handmade necklace from one. Some fun musicians across from the park. lovely fountain in a roundabout Remember these days, from before Covid isolation?

Good morning friends! It was warmer overnight and we are sitting at 52 and cloudy. There's a 50% chance of afternoon thunderstorms and a high of 68. Thanks to Rich @richwmn for the Fleet Report and Daily. I hope I receive some Christmas cards today since I sent out a lot of them earlier this week. My twin's is always the first card I receive and that is already here. Lost and founds have an important purpose and it's always nice when we find our lost item there. Genocide prevention has been in the news lately. I will be interested in seeing the skillet shepherd's pie recipe. No thank you to the drink or wine this morning. Interesting days in history. Thanks ahead of time Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard for your F&B reports. Prayers said this morning as I walked my 2.5 miles and I hope everyone here sees some improvement in their situations. Vanessa @JazzyV I hope your pain will end soon and you can sleep a full night before long. 😴 Never fear, you were all included in my prayers as well as DB, friends Scott and Bob and spouses. Special prayers for those in Israel and Ukraine, the hostages still held and our troops being targeted. Peace for everyone! 🙏 My we have a long list of people preparing to leave on their cruises, and quite a few are currently on board their ships. Hoping for a grand time for everyone! Bon Voyage to you all! And if you have a birthday or anniversary to celebrate, congratulations to you too!🥂🎉 Thank you Vanessa for the great list keeping even through all your pain and computer problems! In my sports report FC Dallas Academy beat Red Bull New York 2-1 yesterday. And the Notre Dame men's soccer team advance to the finals in the College Cup after beating Oregon State 1 to 0. Go Irish! The port today is Funchal, Madeira in the Azores. It was our destination on March 11, 2021 and Dec. 16, 2022. Luckily we visited there at least twice so I have a few photos to show. Here are the links for your convenience in retrieving your photos. Mine are missing so I have to start all over again! No idea why photos from the port show up in some of the links instead of Rich's maps. Just happens! Hope everyone here has a good day and watch out for severe storms this weekend. Stay safe! Stay well!

Happy Birthday @Ichiban Nekko's DH Dave! Hope you two enjoy your upcoming cruise and celebrate! Beautiful Christmas tree Graham @grapau27 and Pauline! Thank you for sharing it with us. Last night the deer didn't show up for dinner between 5 and 6 pm. Normally 4 show up every night. So I just looked outside at the sun rising and see them out there having breakfast. Must have been hungry! DH told me last night the deer go somewhere else to eat on Thursdays! I can just picture them checking their calendar each week. Too funny!

On Nov. 29, 2018 we and other Pacific Princess passengers arrived in Rhodes, Greece but it was a rainy morning which included thunder and lightning. So we waited out the storm and after lunch there was a break in the weather. We headed down the gangway and walked over to the City Walls for a quick look at Rhodes. Our view from the ship. Inside the walls we saw the ruins of the Temple of Aphrodite This is the Street of Knights, a medieval road featuring the lodgings of "The Knights of St. John". They started as a religious order but eventually served as a military order. The Palace of the Grand Master, the highest point in Rhodes. The clouds were getting darker so we turned back and walked through a shopping area as we neared the ship. Few people were out and about, mostly those from the Pacific Princess. We had seen several cats wandering through the old town, and when I took this photo of a cat on a wall, we heard a clap of thunder. So we scurried through a gate and rushed towards the gangway. As we neared the top of the gangway the winds gusted and raindrops began to fall. We had only spent one hour in Rhodes exploring the streets and sites. A trip back there is a must do! The ship left about 7 pm so I took a few photos of the city after dark.

Good morning friends! Well my weather apps disagree on temperatures and whether or not it's clear or cloudy. So I'll take an average of 34F and later today it will be 62 with cloudy skies. Too dark to see the skies right now! We're expecting rain Saturday and Sunday again. Thanks to Rich @richwmn for starting up today's the Fleet Report and Daily! Today we celebrate crossword solvers, blue collar workers and brownies! A good day for all! I do know of one blue collar worker however that needs to do his job and that is my FedEx driver. My package was on the truck for delivery all day yesterday. At 5:20 pm he stopped on the street in front of my house, sorted a few boxes in the back of the truck for 5 minutes, then left to deliver a package up the block, and came back down my cul-de-sac at breakneck speed skipping right by us. Guess he wanted to get back to Macon to get home for dinner on time. So the package sat on the truck all night and he may show up today to deliver it, or NOT! This is the holiday season delivery companies. You may have to work a few extra hours a week to get the job done! I'm not great at crossword puzzles but can complete a Sudoku puzzle given enough time. Interesting quote but I'll pass on the salmon, drink and wine. A good day in history in 1863 as Abraham Lincoln got things back on track in America. Thanks Food and Beverage ladies Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard for your reports today. Prayers have been said already for our CC Daily members in need of them, for pain and other other disabilities. I hope Vanessa got more sleep last night. Special prayers for Baby Murphy, and Tana, my DB and friends and their spouses. Cheers to all those cruising and enjoying special events. Have a wonderful time!! Thank you Vanessa @JazzyV for posting the lists each day like clockwork. Praying for you! The port today is Rhodes Island, Greece. I'm taking that to mean the entire island but most of us have been to the biggest city, Rhodes. That was our port before on Sept. 11, 2021 and June 1, 2022. We were there once before but our exploration was cut short by rain. Here are the links today. Tonight Notre Dame men's soccer play Oregon State in the semifinals of the College Cup. Go Irish! Ren's FC Dallas had a day off yesterday but on Wednesday lost to Atlanta United 1 to 0. They play again later today. Go FC Dallas! That concludes the sports report from me. 😀 Hope everyone has a great day! Stay safe and well!

Bon Voyage everyone especially the Daily contributors Joy @Seasick Sailor, @Ichiban Nekko, Jake @Crazy For Cats and @Suslor!!

It's nice to see everyone's sunny day photos in Kristiansand. We are scheduled to visit there again on May 27, 2024 so hope we see some of those blue skies. Tripadvisor says the railroad you pictured is open June, July, August, so we may not have a chance of considering an excursion on it. No excursions listed had it as a feature. Good luck with the Geek Squad Vanessa @JazzyV. I wouldn't have a clue what to do without help.

In 2016 on our Prinsendam "Greatest Norway Cruise Ever" we stopped in Kristiansand. Weather can make or break a port stop and this day was a wet one. At first it was sprinkles so we donned our rain coats and headed out to see another beautiful Norwegian town. We had determined this day would be a walk around day and didn't schedule a tour. If you are planning to go there you might look into what is available to tour. It was sort of desolate at first. I don't know where everybody was that day. We walked towards a beach area on our little map. At the beach area is where the Christiansholm Fortress, circa 1672, is located. There's a small park nearby. We decided to head to the downtown area to see if anything was happening there. We found an area called Prosebyen which is what's left of Kristiansand's old town. One feature of the neighborhood is small white, single-story wooden houses filling nearly every block. Whoa! There was a rebel living on this street! Here we are getting downtown. . This is a pedestrian shopping area called Markens Gate Unfortunately it was raining harder now. This was the Kristiansand Cathedral, third largest in Norway. We had to head back to the ship because of the rain, and change clothes for lunch as our legs were drenched. In the future I would learn to wear waterproof pants over my jeans to keep me dry. We went to lunch in the dining room and watched the rain come down sideways outside. It had turned into a completely miserable day outside. But lunch was great!! I hope our next stop there is bright and sunny so we can have a completely different experience.

Good morning friends! Cold today! Only 30F but it will be a sunny day again and a high of 58. Happy birthday wishes today to my dear son-in-law who was born on the 30th anniversary of Pearl Harbor. Nice sunny day for him too in Ohio. As I said it is Pearl Harbor Day which Rich @richwmn mentioned in the Today in History section. Happy Hanukkah! Cotton candy and Illinois day aren't really at the top of my concerns today but Joy sounds like something we could all use. Strange quote. I'm sure the risotto, cocktail and red wine are all nice but I am not feeling them today. But I will be interested in reading the reports on them by our friends Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard! Prayers said for all in Israel and Ukraine and the hostages still being kept from families. Hope they are home soon. Also prayers for my DB and friends Scott, Susan, Bob and Sandy. And last but not least our Daily family here who are in need of prayers whether for ill health or family problems. Praying for better days for you all especially Vanessa @JazzyV. Congrats to all on the Celebration list who are cruising or have happy, exciting events in their lives. Thank you Vanessa for your great work keeping the lists updated for us. The port of the day is Kristiansand, Norway. This was our port before on July 24, 2021 and July 10, 2022. I was there once before in 2016 on Prinsendam and it was a memorable day for me. DH doesn't remember it but when I show him photos he always comes around. Here's the link for your use in retrieving your photos from back in 2021 or 2022. I hope everyone has a great day! Stay safe and well.

I agree that's a great sign and so true!!

Debbie @dfish I'm sorry to hear about the instability in River's life due to her Mom's lifestyle and legal issues to put it kindly. My DD tells me she keeps an eye out for listings of when parents of her students go to or get out of jail, and there are always a few each year. She wants to know if they are having problems in school caused by the chaos at home, or the fear of the person coming home and violating protection orders. I never thought about things like this because it didn't happen in my household, but so many kids suffer from the mistakes of their parents. I can't blame you for wishing River's Mom would stay locked up for a while to give the poor child a break. Kudos to you and Sue for all you do for her.

Good morning friends! It's a cold morning with a temp of 40F. Today we will top out around 52 and enjoy sunshine all day long. Thank you Rich @richwmn for the Fleet Report and Daily. I see the holidays for today involve gazpacho, miners and mitten trees. Since I don't like gazpacho I will celebrate mitten trees and miners! That is the school mascot for my DH's engineering university anyway. We all need mittens or gloves to keep warm. The quote is good and I think the chicken tortilla soup would be tasty. I don't think I'd care for a Green Haze (!) or whatever the new wine is. Hurray for Thomas Edison and the Anglo-English Treaty! Thanks to Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard for their reports on food, cocktail and wine. Prayers for our CC Daily member in need of them as well as for my DB and friends. Many prayers for Israel, the hostages kept, and Ukraine. Hoping for better news for everyone ASAP. 🙏 Cheers for all celebrating happy events like birthdays, anniversaries, cruises, bowl invitations, and soccer wins. Happy Birthday @Cat in my lap! I heard FC Dallas beat #1 team Orlando City 4 to 0. Ren played 70 of the 90 minutes and had two assists. Too bad he's not playing the forward position which is his favorite. I hear also the weather is nice in Phoenix this week and DS rented a Mustang Convertible just for fun. Sure beats Michigan weather today where it is snowing and a high of only 38! Thanks to Vanessa @JazzyV for her solid list keeping skills! We appreciate you and even more so while you're in poor health. Hoping for better news for you soon. The port today is a little different. It is Russell in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. We haven't seen this one before though we did have Waitangi, Bay of Island, NZ back on Feb. 9, 2022. I looked up this area and found there are several towns in the area that a cruise ship could visit. In 2017 our Sun Princess cruise was not able to get into port due to weather so we sailed away. By going back into my file for that cruise I found that our port that day would have been Paihia, not Russell or Waitangi. Here is a link to Feb. 9, 2022 in case your Russell photos are there. And here is a map showing the area with the three towns indicated though a little hard to distinguish. They're right in the middle. We arrived on Dec. 6 and anchored, but after moving some crew over to shore, they determined the swells were too much for tendering that day. The water didn't look bad but those swells are often difficult to pinpoint. It took a while to sail away from the area. They had to get that crew back onboard safely and wait for the pilot a while. It looked very nice though and I wish I'd gotten ashore. Wish we could have gotten in to visit. Hope everyone has a great day! Stay safe and well please!

I think I know how Bruce @aliaschief found the Nov. 28, 2022 Daily. It's the second link on the port of the day (Port Louis, Maritius), so he must have sleepily clicked on it by mistake and added his post this morning. I'll have to go see if they decide to lock that thread along with yesterdays. (Nope, that one is still open - but yesterday's Daily is locked). She is absolutely beautiful! Grace is my younger DGD's middle name too.

What in the world happened this morning?? I got an email that we had cleared a waitlist for an excursion on a HAL cruise this so I was advised to log in and purchase it ASAP. I immediately went to an incognito page to log in and finish that task. Well when I went to the cruise in question I couldn't get to the shore excursions. Blank white page. Tried several times! Then I went back to Chrome where HAL's website never works, and was able to sign in and go directly to that cruise's shore excursions, and purchased the waitlisted tours with no problem whatsoever! I nearly fainted! Bet I couldn't do that again for love nor money!😮 Good luck to Chuck today at the doctor appointment! 🤞 Yes, I've seen those metal plates, all over the country. Missouri, Michigan, Ohio, Georgia. I don't like driving over them either! Thanks Rich! I bet I'm not alone in wishing I knew what all that means. lol! Thanks Joy! I know your prayers have helped them all.🙏 +1 @GTVCRUISER. Have a great cruise! Same to @RedneckBob in case I missed him and the Mrs. yesterday. Jacqui I think black jeans should count so you're included today. Hope the vet visit is oodles of "fun" for Ivan, you and the Vet staff!😄 Oh my Terry, just wait until the hammering starts on the roof, all day long! The dogs will really be outraged by that time. Wishing you and Tana a very good day. Wow, talk about an exciting day! Nothing like a home birth with all the first responders in attendance to liven things up. My best wishes for Maeve Grace, the new Mom and Dad, and the entire family. 👶 Prayers for Baby Murphy! What a shame she came down with this respiratory infection! She's a fighter though so hopefully things will continue to progress for her. Good luck preparing for your big cruise!

Good morning friends! A cold morning with a temp of 39F. High will be 59 and lots of sunshine. 🌞 Thanks go to Rich @richwmn for the Fleet Report and Daily! Let's start the topics with International Ninja Day. Somehow this doesn't have a place in my life, but I do appreciate volunteers as I was a regular at the children's schools. I also wear jeans a lot but not at home. Comfort is key! I don't know that I'd like the lentils that much. I think I'll pass on the drink and wine today. 🍷 Lots happening in the past on Dec. 5. Interesting how the Gold Rush started, but prohibition ending was no doubt the biggest event during that time. 🍺 I am guessing ARPANET is computer related. Thanks to our F&B department Debbie @dfish, Dixie @summer slope, and Ann @cat shepard for keeping up with the descriptions each day. Prayers said for our CC Daily Care list. Wishing you all improved health and pain relief. Good news about surgeries scheduled and tests done. Prayers also for the people of Israel and Ukraine, as well as return of hostages. Special prayers for DB, Scott and Bob and their caretakers wives. Cheers to those on the Celebration list celebrating birthdays, anniversaries and cruises. 🚢 I hope the MLS Next Fest soccer players have an enjoyable week in Phoenix. Thanks to Vanessa @JazzyV for the list keeping while suffering from excruciating pain. Prayers offered up especially for you Vanessa. The destination today is Port Louis, Mauritius. This port was listed here on Dec. 14, 2021 and Nov. 28, 2022 so I'll post the links below. We did not visit Port Louis in the past. It may have been on the itinerary on one of the cancelled Grand Africa cruises we never made. Hope you all stay safe and well. Have a great day!

We stayed at Choice Hotel & Suites Logan International Airport on American Legion Highway in Revere last November. They have a shuttle to the hotel and back to the port which is so handy. I didn't have any problems with them. Since we'd been to Boston before we didn't stay near or in downtown Boston.

I love your new quilt pattern and colors. Someone will be very lucky if this is a gift.

Aww, thanks Joy! She is beautiful to us too.

Maureen @RMLincoln hope you are feeling 100% very soon. You have that wedding to get to! The plumber we used had been here once before to replace a valve in our basement where the water comes into the house. It had a drip so they replaced it quickly for us. They are known here for being very good, doing reputable work, and coming fast to the rescue. I wish the roofers were as good! Sorry to hear Terry @smitty34877 you have to get a new roof! Oy vey! The last time our roofer was here he said a good architectural shingle roof would cost us 20-25K!! The plumber today said to replace all the pipes in our house with copper it would be about 10K. Then you have to get the drywall repairs done. The people in our neighborhood with concrete slabs instead of basements have more problems with broken pex pipes than we basement homes do. Their pipes are in the concrete slab. When theirs break, their houses flood from the floor up and cause major damage to floors, drywall, trim, cabinetry, furniture, etc. When ours break in the walls we get a drip, drip problem. Whew!! 😥 Graham @grapau27 thank you for posting the beautiful photo of Pauline all dressed up for dinner. She looked lovely!